For the past four years I have worked hard to address issues important to students in our ward and to continue to encourage students, as 1st Ward residents, to engage with me and bring their insight to the complex issues our ward faces.
From improving lighting on Sheridan Road and downtown to creating a “safe route to campus” along Chicago Avenue; from installing bike lanes that benefit riders and pedestrians to involving students in the legislative process; from helping student entrepreneurs connect with decision-makers in the city to solving problems; and from working to attract new retail and restaurants to making the city safer and more welcoming, I have worked to improve the Evanston experience for all student residents of the 1st Ward.
Partly because of the nature of the beast, living side by side — on campus and in the city — is not always a peaceable kingdom. But during my tenure on the City Council, relations have begun to improve. In me, the residents have an alderman they can trust to look out for their interests, and that has borne fruit when dealing with the University administration on complex issues.
For example, none of the previous aldermen held regular NU/City committee meetings — or quarterly ward meetings — until I came to office, and I hold both. In those meetings, neighborhood residents and university administrators discuss issues in depth regarding university development that affects the residential neighborhood next to campus. When there aren’t development issues to discuss, we just talk, and that’s important, too.
This is one of the many reasons I have earned the endorsement of current Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, who has worked so hard to improve town-gown relations that she has been praised by University President Schapiro.
Trust and dialogue on both sides works, and that’s what I bring to my service as alderman. I know the city, I know the people, and I know the issues and the history behind them; my opponent doesn’t. It takes time and commitment to learn these things, and when you are a candidate for office who has never bothered to attend a neighborhood or city meeting or participated with your neighbors on important community initiatives, such as the Lakefront Master Plan and the Downtown Plan, or even bothered to vote in the last city election, neighborhood residents are skeptical about following your lead. And students should be, too.
I have earned the neighbors’ trust, and I can get them to the table; my opponent doesn’t and can’t. His positions on issues have been developed within his campaign team, not from working with the community, and that says it all. Read his words. He will ease zoning, and turn back the clock to a time when residents worried constantly that their elected representatives would give away the store to NU. That’s not the way to improve campus and community relations.
So, that’s the question before us today. I have shown that I can work proactively to make your neighborhood better for you, to keep you safe and to improve your experience in Evanston. I can also bring parties together to improve relations between you, your university and the community. Based on what’s been said during his campaign and in this newspaper, my opponent’s positions on the issues may look great for NU, but they will have a chilling effect west of Sheridan Road.
If working proactively to make Evanston a better place for students and residents alike and improving community relations are priorities for you, then I would be proud to be your alderman, and I would appreciate your vote on Tuesday, April 9.
Judy Fiske
Evanston 1st Ward Alderman
For a response from Fiske’s challenger, Edward Tivador, visit https://dailynorthwestern.com/2013/04/08/opinion/tivador-a-promise-to-work-in-a-collaborative-and-inclusive-manner-on-behalf-of-northwestern/
